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Spencer County moves to align agricultural zoning definitions with state statute
Summary
Spencer County accepted Planning & Zoning recommendations to amend zoning definitions, repealing the county's older agricultural-use language and adopting definitions from KRS 100.111 (including new definitions for breweries, distilleries and small farm wineries); the court approved the recommendation by voice vote.
Spencer County voted to accept Planning & Zoning recommendations to update the county's zoning definitions so they align with Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 100.111.
Julie, who presented the amendments on behalf of planning staff, described proposed Ordinance No. 6 for fiscal year 2024–25 as repealing the existing county definition of agricultural uses and replacing it with the statutory definition in KRS 100.111. She also described new statutory definitions the county will add to its zoning regulations, including alcohol-related categories: brewery, craft distillery, distillery, microbrewery, small farm winery and tasting room.
Several commissioners asked whether removing the county's older phrasing — which previously included language about farm buildings, protected farm machinery and housing livestock — could unintentionally limit the ability of farmers to repair or build agricultural structures. Julie and others explained that the change is intended to match statute and that the zoning code's permit and use sections (the larger article) continue to regulate building permits and allowed uses in each zoning class.
Julie said, "Anything that is struck through is what I'm taking out on this 1... Whatever I underlined is what's new," explaining the document shows stricken vs. underlined language to make the change transparent. The court accepted the Planning & Zoning recommendations; Speaker 5 recorded "motion by Will, second by Mike, to accept the planning and zoning recommendations on the adjustments to the definition of acreage or uses according to the proposed ordinance number 6." The motion passed by voice vote with no recorded holds.
Why it matters: aligning local zoning definitions with state statute reduces the risk of local definitions being inconsistent with state law and aims to make permitting more predictable. Commissioners said their primary concern was ensuring the change would not eliminate practical protections or clarity for common farm structures; staff said the full zoning article and permit sections retain the operational rules.
Next steps: with the court's acceptance of the planning commission recommendations, the ordinance will move forward in the formal adoption process consistent with county procedures.
